Tires Filled front tires...

[mrcaptainbob]

Heard it's not a good idea to fill the fronts. Why might that be? I would think it would help the tires...

 

[woodchuckie]

Most fronts are so small (not much weight added) compared to the rear that it's not worth the trouble to me.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Heard it's not a good idea to fill the fronts. Why might that be? I would think it would help the tires...

You'll hear from some sources that it's not good to fill REAR tires, but that's only true in some isolated instances. Same applies to fronts.

First the advantages. Weight is weight. But location is location like the old real estate addage. Weight down low is better as far as center of gravity. Hanging cast weights on a front rack gets the job done, maybe even with some advantages of it's own. (Farther forward than front axle. leverage advantage) But placing that weight in the tires keeps the weight low, helping stabilize the tractor without significantly altering center of gravity. Smaller tires don't hold all that much, but you can add 30lbs, 40lbs, 50lbs, even more to each wheel. In many cases, that's enough to do the trick. Fluid filled fronts add that weight without adding any "dimentional" changes to the tractor. (no cast weights sticking out from the tractor) Many older tractors were even available with cast weights that fit inside the dish of the front wheels for this very reason. Price cast weights and associated mounting hardware. Price fluid in tires. Advantage fluid.

DISadvantages. Well, there's the age-old issue of what to put in them. (ca/cl/rim gaurd/windshield washer fluid/anti-freeze/ect) Then there's the corrosion issue. (see previous sentence) It's NEVER fun to deal with a flat tire when there's fluid inside. Fronts flatten easier than rears from my experience. There is some extra loading on wheel bearings/steering components from having a heavier wheel assembly bouncing around at the end of the axle. (MORE of an issue with cast weights hanging as "sprung weight")

All in all, in that "perfect world" we wouldn't need extra weight on the front of our tractors. But this ol' world isn't nearly perfect. Any way you go about adding weight has its liabilities. Fluid included. If you need weight and can live with the disadvantages as compared to the disadvantages of cast weights, it's not all that bad of a solution to the problem.

But, as eluded to at the beginning of my reply, it's a case by case situation.

 

[BTDT]

You didn't say filled with what, so I'll add that if they are foam filled, you won't have flats.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

You didn't say filled with what, so I'll add that if they are foam filled, you won't have flats.

I didn't think of THAT "filled".

Positive; No more flats.

Negative; Ride of the proverbial "log wagon", Loads of fun when it's time to change a worn out tire.

 

[N80]

The manual for my Kubota L4400 4wd says specifically not to fill the fronts with fluid. They don't give an explanation. To me, it seems like fluid in the fronts would be a good thing. Maybe they are worried about the bearings, etc.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

The manual for my Kubota L4400 4wd says specifically not to fill the fronts with fluid. They don't give an explanation. To me, it seems like fluid in the fronts would be a good thing. Maybe they are worried about the bearings, etc.

You'll get an explaination from some that fluid in front wheels (or rear for that matter) is "unsprung weight" and doesn't stress bearings, axles, steering components, ect. But look at it from a simple logic standpoint. Which would put more strain on a bearing? A 75lb wheel/tire assembly bouncing around? OR, a 125lb wheel assembly?

I'm sure with the use of common platforms on a lot of todays tractors, there's a model at the bottom end of the size chart that is more than adaquate in component strenght and the heaviest/biggest models that could very well be marginal in stregnth. That added weight translates to more traction. With a loader carrying a full load AND that fluid weight, I'd bet there are instances where there's just TOO MUCH traction available on the front end. That might just make the engineers in the warranty dept. a little nervous.

 

[SFish]

If you use your tractor once a week only to mow it will take a long time to wear out. If you use it every day for 8 hours dragging heavy implements and the loader full, it will wear out quicker. Within these extremes fluid in the tires is a very small wear factor.

I load the front tires. It gives a little traction increase and helps keep the front down with something heavy on the back, but the main reason is to keep the front tires from rolling sideways. Here is how I learned this-- On one smaller CUT I own I have R1 tires and a loader. One time with the front tire pressure fairly high, a heavy bucket full of dirt (low to the ground), and a sharp turn on a side hill (not real steep), I had the downhill side front tire role sideways on the rim and break the bead so the air whoshed out and it collapsed. It was a little scary for the downhill side to drop, especially when I was not doing anything unusual or abusing the rig. Because water is not very compressible, filling some proportion of the tire (never all) with water reduces how much the tire will distort under load. This practice reduced squishy movement under load and extended tire life for me and I now do this on my larger tractor with R4s as well.

Steve

 

[SPYDERLK]

Quote Farmwithjunk: You'll get an explaination from some that fluid in front wheels (or rear for that matter) is "unsprung weight" and doesn't stress bearings, axles, steering components, ect. But look at it from a simple logic standpoint. Which would put more strain on a bearing? A 75lb wheel/tire assembly bouncing around? OR, a 125lb wheel assembly?

Actually, more strain on the bearings from that 50# added to the tractor front than to the wheels. The tractor suspension is ridgid so there really is no sprung/unsprung distinction. In reality the tires are all the suspension you have. When you fill them you lose some of this -a negative- but offset somewhat by the + of not carrying all your traction weight on the bearing. Filled tires would be great for loader work since the tires will be less compressible, but it will be necessary to take it easier on bumps with a buckload to reduce the higher impulse loads on the bearings.
larry

 

[Harvey7]

You didn't say filled with what, so I'll add that if they are foam filled, you won't have flats.

How much weight do foam filled tires add ? I would think little or nothing.